Sunday News Reporter

A 44-YEAR-OLD man from Insuza has been arraigned before the courts for attempting to rape his         five-year-old niece.

This was heard when the accused appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Shepherd Munjanja for contravening Section 65 as read with Section 189 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

Mr Masimba Sauraka, for the state, told the court that on 5 June at 10am the accused person asked his niece to escort him to the grinding mill.

On arrival at the grinding mill the accused person left the wheelbarrow with grain.

The court heard that the uncle led his niece to a nearby bush and a man manning the grinding mill became suspicious of their movements and followed behind from a distance.

While in the bush the uncle sat down and held his niece on his legs and started caressing her while in that position.

The court heard that after some few minutes the uncle made the child lie down on the ground facing upwards and he stood up, opened the zip of his trousers and knelt down.

When the uncle tried to rape his niece, the man from the grinding mill who was monitoring from a distance arrived at the scene.

A tip-off was made to the police leading to the arrest of the accused person.

The accused was remanded in custody to 2 July.